Any citizen whose rights have been violated has every reason to seek compensation for losses incurred or damage caused. However, almost every person who is faced with the need for compensation for damage for the first time cannot immediately navigate the list of required papers. But in addition to documents and certificates that confirm the legitimacy of the demands, it is necessary to correctly draw up a statement of claim to the court.
In our article we will tell you how to correctly draw up a claim for compensation for material damage, provide a sample statement and tell you how to file a claim for compensation for damage. Using our instructions, you will be able to draw up the document correctly, submit it on time, and at the same time you will know exactly in which court you need to file a claim for compensation.
What damage can be compensated
First of all, it is worth noting that the injured party can be either an individual or a legal entity. The procedure for filing a claim for compensation for material damage will be almost identical in both cases, and the injured party will have the full right to compensation for losses.
With a lawsuit you can recover:
- Income or profit that the injured party was deprived of as a result of the unlawful actions of the perpetrator or the situation as a whole. This may include contracts that implied the acquisition of profit, but in the end were not fulfilled due to what happened;
- Damage to property that was damaged in the incident, including its loss or destruction;
- Expenses that were required by the injured party to restore certain property, an object or other property objects;
- Moral harm , which can be both physical and moral suffering. Quite often, it is also included in the general list of damages when claiming material compensation in court.
Info
When considering legal proceedings involving legal entities, the standard amount of damages is based solely on existing contracts and acts. There are many more different nuances when considering cases with individuals. For this reason, we strongly recommend that you take advantage of a free consultation, because it will help you determine all the damages caused that you can compensate.
Jurisdiction
Cases regarding the recovery of moral or material damage are considered by the magistrate or district court.
If the amount of the claim is below 50,000 rubles, the claim is filed in the magistrate's court. If higher – to the regional one.
The maximum amount of the claim is not established by law, so the plaintiff can independently determine it, based on his costs associated with the restoration of health, property, and moral suffering.
Compensation for moral damage under the consumer protection law
How to compensate for damage in case of flight delay, read here.
How to recover the amount of damage from the culprit of an accident, read the link:
What documents to collect
Before filing a claim, you will need evidence. It is on their basis that the amount that you will demand through the court from the culprit will be based. If the statement of claim is not supported by the required documents and does not contain an accurate description of the situation, it will simply not be accepted.
Depending on the situation, you will need:
- Medical certificates , as well as receipts from medical institutions, if you want to compensate for damage caused to health. This item also includes doctor’s prescriptions and receipts indicating the purchase of prescribed medications;
- Conclusions and decisions of psychologists, forensic experts, psychiatrists or neurologists in cases of compensation for moral damage;
- A document formalized by law for an expert assessment of the value of a property that was lost as a result of an incident. To obtain an assessment, you can contact the relevant bureaus;
- Receipts, checks or other payment documents that indicate the costs of restoring property or some object after the actions of the guilty party.
However, in addition to documents that indicate the specific amounts that make up the total required, you will need evidence that you are right in the situation . To do this you may need:
- Testimony of witnesses to the incident;
- Written evidence of the involvement of the guilty party, including various sources indicating involvement;
- Video recordings, audio recordings, tape recordings or other recorded data about the incident that will indicate the defendant’s involvement and guilt;
- Evidence from experts or other specialists in this case;
- Documents evidencing the fact of the incident. In the event of an accident, for example, this will be the traffic police protocol;
- Documents about attempts to pre-trial resolve the dispute, which may include receipts or written agreements between the parties;
- Other evidence.
Advice
Even if the statement of claim to the court for compensation for material damage is drawn up as correctly as possible, without an evidence base it is extremely unlikely that the decision made will be in your favor. For this reason, never neglect evidence by providing as many documents as possible.
In addition to the losses incurred as a result of the incident and compensation for damage (moral or property), you can demand the cost of the legal process from the guilty party. Such a decision will help you recover all damages incurred, including legal costs. However, keep in mind that all requirements must be within the limits of the law, and also that overestimating the amounts will negatively affect the court’s decision.
Evidence base
If the parties were unable to agree on a solution to the conflict voluntarily, then the injured party files a claim in court to compensate for its losses. In the statement of claim, the plaintiff demands that the defendant pay his expenses for organizing the court hearing, compensation for losses and moral damage.
Please note! Each of these demands must be supported by evidence, otherwise the court will not take this data into account and reduce the amount of the claim.
While it is quite easy to prove material losses and expenses, moral experiences are more difficult to prove.
Moral or spiritual suffering is a violation of the psyche and emotional balance of a person. Moral damage is described in the main part of the claim as a consequence of an event that occurred due to the fault of the defendant.
It must be indicated that the offense resulted in physical pain, depression, moral suffering, and honor and dignity were affected. It is also possible to attract witnesses to such a condition of the plaintiff.
Proof will require the opinions of a forensic expert, psychologist, psychiatrist, psychotherapist, neurologist and other specialized specialists. They can make a diagnosis, record the fact of moral suffering and connect it with the physical manifestation of the disease that occurred due to the conflict.
The court, based on the documents provided, will decide whether to fully or partially accept the fact of moral damage or reject it.
Attention! Calculator for calculating the indexation of the amount of compensation for harm (Article 1091 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation).
Evidence of material damage will include:
- video and audio recordings;
- written documents;
- witness statements;
- protocols, expert opinions, specialists.
When drawing up a statement of claim, you must indicate that specific property was damaged as a result of a negative event. To confirm its value or the cost of its repair, you need to prepare receipts. If they are not available, you can bring in an expert to evaluate.
A simple oral narrative about how the plaintiff suffered morally and financially is not taken into account by the court.
It is important that the statement of claim must be drawn up in the most formal, dry, legally competent language without excessive emotional overtones. It is possible to convince the court of the legality of the claims only with the help of a powerful evidence base.
How to write
Like many other applications, this has standard points and specifics to fill out. Even considering that it is compiled in free form, for the best result it is recommended to adhere to a certain sequence and follow the standards for writing documents.
A claim for compensation for material damage must consist of:
- Introductory information about the court, the plaintiff and the defendant. You will need to write the name of the court where the claim is being sent, your full name, address, telephone number and, if necessary, the address for receiving letters. In addition to your information as a plaintiff, information about the defendant will be required. In addition to addresses and phone numbers, you may also need an email address;
- Descriptions of the application itself. This part is deservedly considered the most difficult due to the free form of presentation. You will need to describe what happened from beginning to end, exclusively in a businesslike tone, avoiding expression and emotions. State all the facts of what happened, supporting the words with articles of current legislation, and also indicating that this or that event is confirmed by the relevant document. The main points that are needed specifically in this statement are: what harm was caused, under what circumstances, were there any witnesses, when exactly did it happen, and what were the results of what happened (what was required to eliminate the harm caused);
- Petitions. This paragraph indicates the claims of the plaintiff to the defendant, that is, the amount of the claim and a list of documents according to which this exact amount is required;
- The final list of attached documents (certificates, records, etc.). After the list, the date is already indicated and a signature is placed.
What to attach to the claim - a copy or the original?
When it becomes necessary to attach various documents to a claim, a similar question naturally arises.
Originals:
- Receipts indicating payment of state duty;
- Pre-trial settlement documents, if any;
- Receipts, expert assessment results, medical certificates, doctor’s prescriptions, receipts and other payment documents;
- Calculation of the final amount claimed.
Copies:
- Certificates of medical services that were required due to the incident;
- Claims, statements or other documents previously sent to the defendant, if he is a legal entity.
Attention
When drawing up a statement of claim, you must make copies of it. Their number depends directly on the number of parties participating in the process. You need to remember that the original statement of claim is submitted to the court, one copy must remain with you and, as mentioned earlier, there must be more copies depending on the number of defendants or plaintiffs. Copies of the statement of claim are required.
Reasons for filing a lawsuit
Before filing a claim for compensation for moral damage and moral harm, you first need to understand what constitutes moral damage or harm. Man is a social being, constantly in contact with the people around him. He tends to experience different emotions - joy, disappointment, anger, etc. Mainly its psychological, i.e. morale is good.
But sometimes strangers can disrupt this state with their behavior or actions, which leads to psycho-emotional and physical suffering (insomnia, depression, etc.).
Here's a simple example. Citizen Ivanova borrowed money from her best friend Gerasimova - 80 thousand rubles. She promised to return it by a certain date. Gerasimova invested borrowed money in her business. And it was necessary to use part of this money to repay the debt from the bank.
On the appointed day, Ivanova disappeared - she did not answer calls, she tried by any means to avoid returning the debt. Gerasimova was very worried about this, because... the planned plans were not realized. She was tormented by insomnia, as a result of which the woman had a nervous breakdown.
This is called causing moral harm. Gerasimova felt very bad psychologically and suffered moral harm.
Another example is that a pregnant woman, as a result of not receiving professional help from doctors, suffered a miscarriage. Although there was everything necessary: premises, equipment. Here, the doctors are clearly to blame for the death of the newborn, so the victim also has the right to demand compensation for moral damages.
A theft has occurred - in addition to material damage, the owner of the stolen item suffers moral damage. An accident occurred and the driver died as a result of the collision. His loved ones are also experiencing psychological suffering.
The employer has stopped paying wages for 3-4 months; one of the employees was hospitalized with a serious illness. There was no money for treatment, and there was nothing to feed the family either. As a result of lack of money for expensive medicine, this person becomes disabled - there is moral and material damage.
Summarizing all of the above and based on the provisions of the law, we can draw a conclusion.
A person’s act will be considered causing moral harm if:
- harm to the health or dignity of a person is caused;
- moral rights were violated (right of authorship, patent law);
- disclosure of family or personal secrets of a person (slander), etc.
In other words, due to some situation, a person suffers physical, moral and moral harm. And this person has the right to file a claim for compensation for property damage and moral damage.
How and where to file a claim
The claim will need to be filed in the district court, since civil cases are within its jurisdiction. The court for filing is selected depending on your place of residence; most often you go to the closest one. As soon as you find out the address of the court, write a statement of claim and attach all the required documents to it - the statement itself and its copies will need to be submitted directly to the court reception. It is important that when submitting an application in person, your copies will be certified by a seal.
You can file a claim in court for compensation for material damage within three years from the date of the incident. If we talk about moral damage, then such claims have no statute of limitations. But when filing, always keep in mind that the more time has passed, the more difficult it may be to collect evidence. The application will be considered within two months, and during this period the document will not only be considered, but also submitted to the court office.
You can check the status of your claim, because numbers are assigned to them, and you are also required to notify whether it has been accepted and at what stage it is at. In order to receive information in a timely manner, be sure to indicate in the statement of claim current addresses for paper correspondence, correct email addresses, and check the correctness of telephone numbers.
Deadlines for submission and review
The general limitation period is three years. This means that after the specified time has passed, the person will not have the opportunity to seek protection of his violated rights. Let us note that for the category of cases, the consequences of which were harm to health, there is no limitation period, that is, a complaint can be filed at any time after the commission of the offense.
The application is considered by a judge, in accordance with the law, for two months, after which a reasoned decision must be made.
